Is Paul Bunyon Coming to Holliston?

by Alexander Wheaton
September 8, 2018

The committee may be small, but a repeated discussion at previous meetings looms large. The Town Forest Committee is a three member board formed to manage the town's woodlands. Currently only two members serve on the board, Joanne Hulbert & John Goller. The duo is looking to reintroduce a program of clearing wood (fallen, diseased, and marked) from the local woodlands, a practice last used by local residents some forty years ago. The committee is referring to the program as a "work for wood" idea. Hulbert explained that while she feels the concept is great, the hurdles are many. The committee is targeting a 2020 date, but obstacles loom large such as access, budgeting, legal, enviromental, volunteers, liabilities.

Goller stated that we are going to continue discussions, I'd like for the town to give it a shot. The duo were clear that the proposed venture is not a commercial logging program, but strictly a value added volunteer environmental program for local residents. The question at hand is: if the program is feasable would the town support it?

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I took part in Holliston's "Cut A Chord" program about 40 years ago. It worked something like this; borrow a high clearance 4 wheel drive pickup truck and drive into the Adams Street Town Forest on the fire road. Lots on each side of the road had been clearly marked, and trees that were to be removed had been marked with red spray paint by the "Town Forester". I chose a good lot, dropped off chainsaws, lunch, water, etc, then had to back the truck back to Adams Street since high banks on each side of the fire road prevented turning around, and the road had to be cleared for other vehicles. It took the better part of a Saturday to down the trees, cut off the branches, cut the logs into 2 foot lengths, drag the logs to a stack beside the fire road, and back the truck (I got smarter) back to my designated lot, and load the logs into the truck bed. I then had to unload the logs into my driveway at my house on Union Street, clean up the truck, and return it to the friend I'd borrowed it from. John Feeheley, the Fire Chief and local legend who lived across the street, walked by the following morning as I was out with my axe and two pound maul; "Young feller, you got a heap of splittin' to do!"

Today, I think I'll just ask "Alexa" to bump the thermostat up a few degrees.

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